According to the Edo State Police Command, four kidnapped persons were freed, while a suspected kidnapper was killed after engaging its officers in a gunfight.
According to ASP Jennifer Iwegbu, the deputy spokesperson for the Command, information from a victim who managed to flee the gunmen’s hideout helped to the assailants’ pursuit.
The statement read, “Following credible information received at about 8:10 am on August 20, 2022, from a man who escaped from a kidnappers’ den on August 18, 2022, men of the state command in collaboration with men of the vigilante group and hunters, laid ambush at Iyuku Forest, where the incident had occurred.
“At about 11:30 am, one of the suspected kidnappers, while coming from their hideout with a single barrel gun in hand, ran into the ambush laid by men of the command.
“On sighting the police, the suspect began to fire at the security men but he was neutralised in the process, while the other members of the gang escaped with various degrees of gunshot injuries.
“One locally made single barrel gun and four live cartridges were recovered at the scene, while bush combing is ongoing to arrest the fleeing gang members.
“In a related development, the command also rescued four kidnapped victims in the state, following credible information at the command’s disposal on August 20, that at about 9 pm, hoodlums, suspected to be kidnappers, dressed in military uniforms, emerged from the bush along the Benin-Akure Road, intercepted a car with Reg no MM 528 AA and whisked away the occupants into the bush.
“Men of the command immediately mobilised to the scene for rigorous bush combing and rescue of the victims and rescued four victims while the kidnappers ran away when they came under severe fire. The four victims rescued are Okolie Chukuka, Samson Ayodele, Ronke Makinde and her five years old daughter,” the statement added.
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